Local hopes to reap the rewards of hard yards
The local favourite will compete in his eighth Margaret River Pro when the competition window opens on Saturday, having this year done it the hard way by winning through the trials.
The 27-year-old had been a full-time member of the World Surf League's championship tour to start 2024, having won qualification via the challenge series the previous year.
That was a watershed moment for the one-time teen prodigy following several heartbreaking near-misses after he initially announced himself to the world surfing by beating legend Kelly Slater in Portugal as a 16-year-old wildcard in 2013.
But the ecstasy of that qualification breakthrough was soon ripped away after only five events that saw him make it past the round-of-32 once, before being cut.
Willcox said getting another chance to compete in front of his home crowd at Margaret River was why he still loved surfing.
'Last year was a bit of a reality check, and it feels amazing to be competing again,' he said after edging out Yallingup's Jack Thomas in a high-stakes trials finale that brought the beach to its feet. 'All the feelings I had today were epic, and I can't wait to surf with no pressure in front of my home crowd.' WA Trials winners Jacob Willcox and Willow Hardy. Supplied Credit: Supplied / Surfing WA
Willcox posted the highest individual score of the day at Surfers Point, a near-perfect 9.00, on his opening wave of the final and backed it up with a 7.73, finishing with a combined 16.73 (out of a possible 20).
Thomas, a past qualifier at the event, rallied with some brilliant surfing of his own, finishing with a two-wave total of 15.58.
Goofy-footer Willcox will face stiff competition in his opening heat of the Pro, having been drawn against current world No.1 Italo Ferreira of Brazil and fellow Aussie George Pittar, who made a sparkling run to last year's semifinals in Margaret River as a wildcard.
Seven other Aussie's are in the men's draw, including another local favourite Jack Robinson, a two-time winner in Margaret River, who has drawn Marco Mignot of France and Ian Gentil of Hawaii in the opening round.
On the women's side, rising star Willow Hardy delivered a composed and powerful performance to claim a trials victory over close friend and fellow Margaret River charger Kaleisha Launders.
Set to compete on the challenger series later this year, Hardy looked every bit the future champion, finishing with a two-wave total of 14.51, including two scores in the seven point plus range.
Launders, who showed incredible endurance and spirit by surfing four heats to reach the final, finished on a 10.06 combined total.
'I can't believe it, I'm so stoked,' Hardy, 18, said. 'It's amazing. We all grew up watching the world's best surf here, and the fact that we now get to join them is incredible. Surfing WA does such an amazing job with this event, it's one we all look forward to and love.'
Hardy will also face a current women's world No.1, defending Maragret River champion Gabriela Bryan of Hawaii, along with Vahine Fierro of France/Tahiti.
She joins five other Aussie's in the field, including another local hope, Bronte Macaulay, who has come out of retirement after being granted a wildcard by organisers.
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